Service dog changes Marshfield teen's life

Wednesday

Sep 3, 2014 at 4:52 AMSep 3, 2014 at 5:01 PM

Shawn Sanborn, 16, was diagnosed with epilepsy about four years ago and has two brain tumors. Two years ago, the family learned about seizure dogs and set about raising the $25,000 needed to get one for Shawn.

MARSHFIELD – Shawn Sanborn is not sure which high school will accommodate him this fall with his severe epilepsy, or what kind of work he’ll end up doing later in life. But his life has become a bit easier with his new seizure-detecting dog, Sherbert, at his side.

Sanborn, 16, was diagnosed with epilepsy about four years ago and has two brain tumors. Two years ago, the family learned about seizure dogs and set about raising the $25,000 needed to get one for Shawn. They had help from the Marshfield and Duxbury communities, friends, yard sales and a generous donor.

To train Sherbert to detect his seizures, Sanborn first wore T-shirts for two to three days to gather the smell of his body and his sweat and mailed them to Sherbert’s trainers in plastic baggies. He then sent T-shirts rubbed with his sweat after he experienced a seizure so Sherbert could learn to detect the difference in scents.

Sherbert was trained at 4 Paws for Ability, a nonprofit organization in Ohio that aids children with disabilities by placing them with a task-trained service dog.

“His body lets off a scent 24 hours before seizures,” said his mother, Krissie Sanborn. The Sanborns drove 17 hours to Ohio to pick up Sherbert and to attend two weeks of training.

“Sherbert detected a seizure for Shawn the first day that they met,” Krissie Sanborn said. “I sleep now. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Shawn said Sherbert’s reaction to his oncoming seizure was dramatic.

“She climbed right on to me and went for my right ear,” he said.

Shawn said he has had to repeat his freshman year in high school due to missing school days for medical reasons, including the side effects of the epilepsy drugs he takes. He has a chipped shoulder and rotator cup resulting from a violent seizure. His seizures can leave him bleeding, throwing up and flat on the floor.

Shawn said he’s hoping to attend South Shore Vocational Technical High School in Hanover to learn a trade like drafting. Another option is Marshfield High School, but the Sanborns said the school has yet to approve Shawn bringing Sherbert to classes.

In his spare time, he is a creative writer. “He’s a closet writer,” said Krissie Sanborn.

Though Shawn said he loves it when children pet Sherbert, who is still a puppy, Krissie Sanborn said she hopes more people will understand why her son needs to have Sherbert at his side and give him a break.

When she went to a local supermarket in Marshfield with Shawn and Sherbert, she said, she was asked to leave or present paperwork. “I grabbed Sherbert and the federal law and said ‘for future reference, this is what you need to know.’ Legally you don’t have to show papers,” she said.

“It’s embarrassing enough for my son since it points out a disability. For you to question it causes a scene,” she said.

Sherbert only barks when she detects a seizure and not around other dogs.

Krissie Sanborn said it’s been challenging at times for Shawn to attend school because of his condition.

“Kids never knew what a seizure was,” she explained. “He had one in social studies one day. The teacher thought he was going to sleep.”

Despite the challenges he’s faced in school, Shawn said he loves Marshfield and friends like Marshfield teen Carol Anne-Hunt, who has driven to Boston Children’s Hospital’s epilepsy ward with two other friends to deliver bags of goodies to him.

“I love Marshfield. I could walk down to the beach, all my friends are close by. It’s just a nice place,” he said.

Though he’s sad that he’ll never swim, drive or go near a nightclub with its flashing lights, he said, “You’ve got to look at the bright side. I’m great at doing the worm and re-enacting ‘The Exorcist.’”

He added, “It feels weird having everyone coming to ask if you’re OK. I appreciate the sympathy but sometimes I just want to be a normal teenage boy. Not Pinnochio.”